The University of Utah is once again entering a student team in Map the System, a global competition hosted by the University of Oxford. This year’s team is made up of students and alumni from the newly formed student experience known as Prosperity Scholars. The team chose to analyze disparities in life expectancy experienced in the West Valley area of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area in connection with the development of the University of Utah’s West Valley Health and Community Center. For those not familiar with the West Valley Health and Community Center project, it is a collaboration of the University of Utah and the residents of West Valley City to build a long-lasting model supporting health and community development in the area.
Cover page of the proposal the Map the System team is submitting
This topic is significant to the team for personal, professional, and academic reasons. Some of the team grew up in the West Valley area and experienced the health access disparities firsthand. Others have worked in the West Valley area and experienced navigating its healthcare system. The entire team recognizes that all Utahns should be able to enjoy the benefits of a long, healthy, and prosperous life. In trying to understand the systems affecting the disparities, the students hope to bring greater clarity to the issue here in Utah.
The Map the System team is partnering with the University of Utah’s University Neighborhood Partners and West Valley Project. Other partners include local government stakeholders such as Healthy West Valley.
The 2023 University of Utah Map the System team is made up of Laurel Peacock (Master of Public Administration), Tan Le (Health Society and Policy), Scott Meaux (University Alumni), and Ryan Smith (Health Society and Policy).
In early May 2023, the team will present its analysis in the online semi-finals to a panel of judges, competing against over 100 institutions worldwide for the first round of the competition. If the team is chosen for the final, they will travel to the University of Oxford in July to compete in person. Laurel Peacock says, “We look forward to presenting our research to a global audience. These health and well-being disparities exist in urban areas across the world. We hope that our research can help shed light on the systems that create such gaps between affluent and impoverished areas.”
Last year the University of Utah made an inaugural debut at Map the System competition. The team received the Project of Excellence Award for a Newcomer Institution for their work entitled Factors Affecting the Shrinking of the Great Salt Lake.
Map the System challenges students to use systems thinking to develop new insights into some of the world’s most complex challenges. Teams are asked to select a social or environmental issue important to them and examine it from a comprehensive systems perspective to create a deeper understanding that can lead to new solutions. After probing and connecting the elements of a selected issue, teams work to put together both a written paper and an oral presentation to communicate their findings to further support future change. Professor Stephen Alder, the faculty advisor for the team, notes, “Too often we try to create solutions before we understand the challenge we are trying to address. Through Map the System, skills are developed for gaining a comprehensive understanding of a particular issue with the end result being the identification of actionable points of leverage.”
If you are interested in learning more about Map the System, please join our Prosperity Scholars Program. Prosperity Scholars is a transformative student experience focused on improving local and global prosperity including economic, social, political, and personal well-being. The program aims to be multidisciplinary and is open to students from all majors. Learn more at Eccles.link/BHP
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